Opal Lee

The Last Word: Opal Lee Shares a Lifetime of Wisdom at North Texas Girl Scouts Event

by | Feb 21, 2024
There's a reason Opal Lee's portrait is on permanent display in the Texas Senate chamber in Austin. Known as the Grandmother of Juneteenth, the 97-year-old social activist worked tirelessly to ensure that Juneteenth would be recognized as a federal holiday. Earlier this month, she passed along some of her wisdom to a new generation at a Lake Highlands Girl Scouts "3 C's" speaker event in Dallas.
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Fort Worth-Based BNSF Railway Donates $2M to National Juneteenth Museum
by | Feb 20, 2024
The museum, currently being built in Fort Worth's Historic Southside neighborhood, has a $70 million fundraising goal and is slated to open in 2025. The 50,000-square-foot Juneteenth Museum center will also host guest lectures, community events, and performances in its 250-seat amphitheater, while offering a food hall, store fronts, and a business incubator to boost local entrepreneurship.
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‘Grandmother of Juneteenth’ Opal Lee Receives Honorary Doctorate at UNT Commencement
by | May 15, 2023
It wasn't the first time Lee walked the stage at the university. Way back in 1963, she earned a master's degree in education at what was then known as North Texas State University.
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National Juneteenth Museum Appoints CEO, Accelerates $70M Fundraising Process
by | May 2, 2023
Former Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce executive Jarred Howard worked behind the scenes for over seven years to spark the vision of building a National Juneteenth Museum to support economic revitalization in the surrounding Southside community. As CEO, he'll be responsible for operations, construction, and accelerating fundraising to achieve the museum’s $70 million campaign goal.
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First Steps Begin at Site of Fort Worth’s National Juneteenth Museum

by | Feb 28, 2023
Demolition has begun at the museum's site in Fort Worth's Historic Southside neighborhood, with plans to break ground for the museum later this year. At a media event Saturday, the museum's new executive strategist, Dr. Lauren Cross (seen above with Opal Lee), was introduced and new renderings of the museum were unveiled.
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Portrait of Civil Rights Icon Opal Lee, the ‘Grandmother of Juneteenth,’ Unveiled in Texas Senate
by | Feb 9, 2023
A portrait of Fort Worth's Opal Lee—known as the "Grandmother of Juneteenth" for her advocacy of the federal Juneteenth holiday—was unveiled Wednesday in the Texas Senate Chamber in Austin, where it will be permanently displayed. “Change somebody’s mind because minds can be changed,” 95-year-old Lee told reporters after the ceremony, according to NBC DFW. “If people have been taught to hate they can be taught to love, and it is up to you to do it.”
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